Being attacked or assaulted is often a function of an assailant surprising their potential victim when the victim is unarmed or unprepared (even if the victim is in possession of a non-lethal self-defense device, e.g. pepper spray, or is armed with a weapon). The threat of accidental discharge of a weapon, or the hindrance caused by having to have a weapon or other self-defense device in-hand and at the ready, may lead to the device not being carried routinely in circumstances where the user could be vulnerable (e.g. any poorly lit and/or sparsely populated area including some parking lots, public streets or parks, or parking garages and subways).
Known personal defense devices (Piper, U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,436 and Torrence, U.S. Pat. No. 6,966,462) have been designed to employ a single mechanical actuator or electronic button that is activated in order to spray the irritant. However, this single button or mechanism was positioned in an area where the wearer could either routinely touch the button with normal motion of the hand, or the button was on the outside of the hand where it could accidentally come in contact with other objects. Thus, the button was highly vulnerable to being accidentally depressed if the wearer of the device tried to wear it and carry on normal activities and hand motions (e.g. put the hand wearing the device into a pocket or purse or simply brush the hand wearing the device against a solid object). A primary disadvantage of such prior devices is the unintentional spraying of repellant.
There remains a need for a device that can be worn on the hand that is immediately available to discharge a repellant such as irritants (e.g. tear gas) or inflammatory agents (e.g. pepper spray), but that is less likely to be accidentally discharged or to hinder the normal use of the hand upon which the device is worn.